High school students walk out over dress code

Have you heard about the students who walked out of class in protest of the dress code being enforced at Homecoming?  You can read it here if you haven't. 

At first I was interested in this because I used to teach high school. . . and then I looked closer and realized I used to teach AT THIS high school!  So, my thoughts:

I don't think it's a modesty issue.  Regardless of what you believe about modesty, the administration still has the right to make rules regarding the styles of clothing the students can wear to the dance.  Notice I didn't say "dresses" because the boys should be dressed according to the standards as well, it's just that I haven't see a lot of backless suits or dress shirts.  I'm sure they have rules about pants being at the waist, but sagging pants isn't really the style at Bingham right now, so probably not an issue. 

But, like I said, they can make the rules what ever they want (you know, with in reason).  And they announced those rules and tried to make sure that everyone knew them.  How do I know this?  Because I worked there and I know how they do.  But I also know that a lot of kids don't pay attention to things they don't care about, and rules usually fall into that category. 

Add to that, that in the past Bingham hasn't been the best at enforcing the dress code at dances.  I know this because I would be the ticket taker, someone would walk in wearing a strapless dress (against the rules that year) and we were told to let it slide.  They're going to wear what they want, and we don't want to turn people away after they paid for tickets.  Enforcing a dress code is hard!

Why enforce it this year?  This is the first dance of the year and along with that a new student body president and vice presidents.  They have a lot of say in this kind of thing.  Also, there may be new admins (I don't know personally) Maybe they're trying to start off on the right foot.  Or maybe dresses have been an issue in the past and they've decided to take a stand this year.  But what ever the reason, they've decided to really enforce it this year.

It sucks, I'm sure, to not get to go to a dance you were really looking forward to.  It also sucks to tell someone they can't go into a dance and to face that wrath.  I guess I'm saying, I'm on the side of the admin here.  If it's been done differently in the past, doesn't mean it has to be done that way for all of time.  And if going to the dance is that important to a student, they need to follow the rules.  Dress code, not going drunk, not fighting, dancing appropriately etc. . . all of the rules. 

Missing school?

After some searching, I think this is one of the only pictures I have of me as a "teacher"!  At lunch with some students after a competition.

Do you know that if I didn't quit teaching, I would be about to start my EIGHTH YEAR???  That is crazy to me. 

When it comes to teaching, it's funny what I miss.  And what I don't miss.

-What I miss MOST is writing the subjects of the lessons in my weekly lesson planner.  This is so funny to me!  What a weird thing to miss. 
-I miss my students!  I loved them.  Before Olivia was born they were my whole world.  After Olivia, it's true, I couldn't give them as much as I felt they needed.  This helped soften the blow when I quit.
-I miss lecturing.  And if you think that sounds boring, well then you should have been in my lectures!  The other day I told my sister all about Christian Dior's "New Look" and how it was a rebound from the masculine style of the 1940's during WWII.  I just love interior design and fashion!
-Grading papers while watching Hulu.  While grading papers isn't my most favorite thing, catching up on Once Upon a Time while I do it was kinda nice.  Obviously I could only do design papers.  If it was anything I had to read, I needed quiet.
-Awards and recognition.  Yeah, I got a lot ;)

I guess here's another picture of me as a teacher.  I look kind of chubby, and I certainly was.  But I also like to think it's because I was pregnant and didn't know it yet.  This is Jordan Shumway presenting me with an award for Teacher All Star Team.  Best award I ever got.

What I DON'T miss
-Meetings.  When you get 100+ people in a group there is no such thing as short meeting.
-Hoops. One year we all had to work in PLCs (something learning community) with other teachers that taught our subject.  Guess how many interior design teachers there were at Bingham?  Just me.  Also we had to fill out these giant portfolios and get evaluated twice a year, but basically were told "Don't worry, it's really hard to get fired". 
-Expectations to work long hours with out pay.  Someone once said "FACS teachers are the first to arrive and the last to leave" and I was like "HECK no.  When 3pm hits, I'm peacing out of this place." 
-Freezing.  Absolutely FREEZING.  My fingers would get numb while typing on my computer during my prep period.  I wanted to wear cute pencil skirts to work, but mostly I wore as much clothing as possible.  I was always cold.  Except that one year when the heat would turn on at noon and my last period class would all get fevers.

Happy back to school tomorrow!  (Or last week, or the week before, because I swear school starts earlier every year)

Passing judgement

When I quit my job last year one thing I looked forward to was going back to judge FCCLA state competitions in March. I didn't know I would have Axel, but since he is still so small I decided I would bring him along and we'd make a go of it. Olivia stayed with one of my former students who has a one year old and she had a blast! (Let's just take a moment here to realize that I have former students that are married and have children!  Cra-Zy)

I got to see the fun ladies I used to work with at Bingham and Wayne!! Wayne was sort of my boss and just one of my favorite people ever. I got to judge the Recycle Redesign projects and my good friend Lois was in charge of that room. Lois is the mom of four grown girls and three grandchildren. She is also very funny and kind, but she's good at teasing too. She is a magnet for all things positive and lovely. I'm sure I'm not doing her justice, you just have to meet her.

I came into our judging room early to feed Axel and she said, "I put you over in this corner so you can nurse anytime during the day." I asked if she thought no one would mind. Her response was, "Kimberly! This is Family! Family and Consumer Sciences. This is what we're all about." So funny, and so great to have that support from her when I was nervous about tending to Axel while watching presentations (I even packed a bottle just in case!)

Now to the good part, the projects. I want to show you what made my day the most fun, the seriously awful projects, but considering how much these kids put themselves out there I feel like that would be uncool. The internet can be a small place and I would hate for these kids to ever find themselves being mocked.

In the past this has mostly been a fashion competition, but I think pinterest is changing that. We got a lot more craft projects than in times past.

The first girl I judged used fabric scraps and handmade lace to cover her guitar instead of buying a new one.  She didn't have strings on it, but said it plays perfectly even with the fabric on it.

This project is hard to see in this picture, but its a window pane turned picture frame.  And the flowers in the glass bottles are made from recycled paper.

I was excited to see this project, because I'm always trying to find ways to make my own rugs.  This one was made of old towels and while her idea was creative, I don't think the rug will hold together in the long run.

This girl used old clothes to make cute flowers for headbands!  She even started selling them, and her high school dance team paid her to make head pieces for their competitions.  Cool, huh?

I love retro fabrics, and so I thought this skirt made of an old bed sheet was really awesome.  Can I tell you something funny?  While she was presenting it, she said her reason for doing this project was to reduce the amount of unused sheets in the world.  Now recycling is good, but that gave me a good laugh (after she was gone!)

A jewelry box made of old cassette tapes!  Lois's husband and I checked and there weren't many great artists used on this project (Nat King Cole and Janet Jackson are the only two worth mentioning)

This was one of my favorites, a corduroy hat made from a old skirt (you can see this picture of it inside out on the very left of the picture) 

I also loved the lining!  (which I believe was the pocket lining of the skirt)

This dress was insane!  Very Hershey couture.  Red carpet dress for the premier of Willy Wonka.

Check out those Hershey Kisses!

I only took a quick picture of this dress, I didn't judge it (there were 40 students and five sets of judges!) and so I don't know much about it, but it looks cute!

This dress is made from a rain coat and two umbrellas!  The girl was a big fan of singing in the rain :)

Another one I don't know much about, but I do know it was made from an old tree skirt, and I think its quite pretty!

This seriously brought tears to my postpartum eyes.  This boy made a wallet from his dad's old work boots.  The foot of the boot was seriously worn, but the tops were in great condition.  I just think its awesome to have something like that, an item that can be passed down for generations, an item that symbolizes hard work and family.

This boy made these small benches out of an old rocking chair that was going to be thrown out.  The camo fabric may not be my design style, but I still think these are awesome!

It was so fun to see so many high school students working hard for something other than a grade!  They care so much about their projects and its just great to feel their excitement.  Can't wait for next year!

Secrets of a School Teacher

I'm not a mom of teenagers.  Heck, my baby is barely one!  But over the last five years I have taught over 1500 teens (probably a low estimate!!) and they tell me things, things that would shock most of you (and that's probably what they were going for: shock).  And when you get to see that large of a sample, you see patterns.  So here is some advice for parents of teens.  At the very least, I want to remember it for when my kids are teens!  So if you don't want to listen, no hard feelings.  This can just be for me.

Help your girls have a good self esteem

Sometimes I freak out thinking about my students and worrying that my daughter will grow up to be just like them.  Their shirts are too low, their skirts are too short, their earrings and hair and nails too crazy.  But when I get to know the girls that cause these panic attacks, its easy to see the patterns.  They don't feel good about themselves, they need attention from boys to boost their feelings.  Some simple things you can do:

Tell them you love them.  Once a girl got a text in class.  Her eyes brimmed with tears and she looked at me and said, "My mom just said 'I love you," for the first time in two months."  No matter how much you fight with your kids or how rebellious they seem they just want your love.  I promise.  I have never heard a student tell me otherwise.

Show them they're important by being there for them.  One student had been in my classes for over two years.  I get these types, they click with me and take everything I offer.  I love it!  She stayed one day after school to make up a test.  She always complained about her mom not buying her enough things or not getting her the phone she wanted (even though she had a LOT of clothes and an iPhone even I couldn't afford).  But that day while she was in my class her mom called.  From what I heard I could tell her mom was calling to say she would not be coming home from her trip as soon as she planned.  My girl said, "You are my mom.  Do you know what moms do?  They help you and they're there for you.  You have a daughter!  You need to come home!"  It was so emotional I knew I never wanted my daughter to feel that way.

Show them they're important by setting limits and rules.  My first year of teaching I would visit with  my students during class, rotating through each desk off 6 students.  (I only taught in that room for one year, but I always missed the set up that allowed me to chat with all of my students easily) On one desk a girl was talking about tattoos and piercings.  "My parents would never let me do that," one girl said dejectedly.  The 15-year-old, who was the ringleader of this conversation, said "My dad will let me do anything.  He loves me."  This poor girl was searching for attention she didn't get at home.  She had to tell herself he loved her, because the only thing he did to show it was ignore her. 

All of my students are worthy of love.  The ones that dress in black and look extreme were maybe the most in need of it.  I can't think of a student that I got to know where I didn't find a soft loving heart deep (but not as deep as you think) inside. 

My Big Announcement!!!

Why is it that the only announcement a married woman can make is that she's pregnant?  Don't tell me that wasn't the first thing that popped into your head. . . In fact when annoucing this to my class I said, "I have something I need to tell you guys, I wanted you to hear it from me first, unfortunately. . ." and before I could finish a student shouted "You're--" and then stopped.  But we all knew what word was hanging in the air.  Pregnant.  Yes, I always announce happy things starting with the word "unfortunately".  No, I'm not pregnant.

I quit my job!!!!!

Now, this is sad for my students ("unfortunately") and a little sad for me, but mostly happy for me and very happy for Olivia.  It was a hard decision to make, but I know its for the best.  Now comes the "unfortunately" for me. . .

Unfortunately, I will not be a stay at home mom just yet.  I'm going to be a nanny which will allow me to bring in a little money while still spending my days with Olivia.  And unfortunately I will not have the time to start my dream job as an interior designer yet either.  But one year is such a short time and soon I'll be in my own house, with my own kids, decorating rooms for all of you!!

For such a happy post, I sure did use the word "unfortunately" a lot.  But once I got started, I just kinda went with it. 



Not quite this, but close!



Source: ifiwasadj.tumblr.com via amber on Pinterest

Robot Babies

One of the main reasons students take my Adult Roles class is the second quarter term project.  I have 20 robot babies that my students sign up to take home for a weekend.  For two days and three hours my teenagers feed, burp, diaper and wake up in the middle of the night to take care of these cute little simulations. 

In order to prepare my students I teach a unit on newborn care and parenting, including shaken baby syndrome.  Then I show a short video about proper care for the Real Care Baby.  And then I make sure parents are aware by sending home a permission slip.  One of my students lost his.  This is what he brought.  Best.  Note.  EVER.

 And here they are!  The proud parents!!

Please excuse the awful mess of my classroom in the background.  Its on my to-do list!!!

They are so excited.  Come Monday morning they will not be looking so happy.

Overheard

At the class officer election assembly, the following questions were asked and the following answers were given.

Q: If you had to be a breakfast cereal, what would you be and why?
A: Captain Crunch.  Because he drives a sick boat!  Hello?  He's a pirate!

Pirate Crunch??

Q: If you had to be an animal, what would you be and why?
A: A flamingo, because I've always wanted to be a flamingo dancer!

Flamingo

Flamenco Dancer

Flamingo Dancer???

To be fair, these kids were being asked questions on the spot.  Still these were just too funny not to share!